Cate's Diary

[Cate]

I wish everyone was as sensible about alcohol as you are: recognizing problems well before they occur is an enviable superpower.

That made me laugh, LaMa. I have learned the hard way.

Cate I bet you are feeling so much better without the alcohol. Enjoy the grandkids hope you find something fun to do .

I am, Petal but more mentally I think. The kids are here now & have eaten early & are in their room playing games on their phones. They have been at school this week so that’s ok.
Had 2 walks today & Arch tired me out. He loves, loves, loves a walk!

 

[Llama]

Had 2 walks today & Arch tired me out. He loves, loves, loves a walk!

That's what you get when you walk out with a younger guy

 

[Cate]

Haha. That is funny

 

[Cate]

We have the kids here & it is lovely. Our house is so quiet though they whisper. I think that's why the trail bikes upset my equilibrium so much. They shattered the peace & quiet. If there was constant background noise it would not have been so noticeable. I don't even have music playing during the day & definitely don't have the tv on.
I feel much stronger mentally again. I noticed yesterday afternoon that I felt more relaxed & less fearful. I spent 4 of the last 5 days at home, but have walked a lot with Archie. Resolving the trail bike noise issue was a biggie & now I feel relieved. I don't cope at all well with loud noise or aggression. I know where it stems from (my childhood- doesn't it almost always?) & I don't think I can change that.
I have not been "dieting" really the last couple of weeks as I thought I would change one thing at a time. Now I have broken the habit of having a couple of glasses of wine at the end of the day I can start planning the next step. I'm going to keep going for another couple of weeks (until the 16th of August) only vaguely keeping count of calories & staying under 1550 a day & will then get stricter. Meanwhile, I don't know what I weigh.
I feel good today.
BF was 2 eggs with avocado on sourdough oat toast.
Lunch will be ?
Dinner will be grilled salmon with some chips & veggies. We'll have some chips too as we have them for the kids & rarely have them. They'll be baked in the oven.
D is staying here tonight with the kids & is working now & tomorrow. We'll take the kids home tomorrow to their Mum's & maybe do a little shop.
It's foggy & is going to rain today, but we'll take Arch into town & go for a big walk around the river & take the kids for ice cream at the gelato place that has recently reopened.

 

[liza]

Nice to hear you are feeling stronger and more relaxed Cate
Sounds like a great visit with the grandkids too
Fog and rain sounds so good from where I am sitting! A little cooler here today and every cloud is welcome!
ps I think I read a different book by Ajahn Brahm...and maybe also listened to some of his talks. It was a while back but I believe I really liked his approach--how are you finding the book?

 

[Llama]

Sounds a lot like my parents' place (although I don't whisper, thunder cracked as I wrote that, and a guy got caught doing 187 km/h on our street the other day ). Peace and quiet are invaluable.

 

[Petal001]

Cate sounds like a lovely day for you and the family . A few chips will be good with the salmon. My son makes sweet potato chips now in the air fryer. They are nice .

 

[Cate]

Thanks, Liza. We had a quiet, but pleasant day. I feel I had my worst food day in a long time though. I'm back to eating super healthy again tomorrow & no treats Sunday night. I had mine today, including a double gelato.
I'm enjoying the book mostly, especially the first half, but have had enough I think.

Sounds a lot like my parents' place (although I don't whisper, thunder cracked as I wrote that, and a guy got caught doing 187 km/h on our street the other day ). Peace and quiet are invaluable.

Peace & quiet are invaluable. I'm glad the speedster got caught! There was a persistent noise for hours today & I wondered what the heck our neighbour was doing but it wasn't close & I put earplugs in. G went for a bit of a walk & came back to tell me he was Karchering the roof of his shed. He's a doer. Noise really travels up here. Usually the only noise I hear is bird noise.

Cate sounds like a lovely day for you and the family . A few chips will be good with the salmon. My son makes sweet potato chips now in the air fryer. They are nice .

Thanks, Petal. I didn't enjoy the chips at all & didn't eat well today. You are what you eat. I had sweets tonight with G, D & the kids & I feel sluggish & sleepy. Ugh. I don't know how people do it.

 

[liza]

I didn't enjoy the chips at all & didn't eat well today. You are what you eat. I had sweets tonight with G, D & the kids & I feel sluggish & sleepy. Ugh. I don't know how people do it.

I guess sometimes its good to remember the whys of choosing to eat well at least!

 

[Llama]

I had sweets tonight with G, D & the kids & I feel sluggish & sleepy. Ugh. I don't know how people do it.

The effects generally don't occur right after eating so the brain doesn't connect the dots and instead ties the sweets to the initial high.

 

[Cate]

Hi, Liza & LaMa. I really just feel so much better without processed food. The ice cream was the trigger I think. I had 2 scoops instead of 1 & I think that flicked a switch. I know better. As of today I’m back to eating normally & really limiting any sweetened stuff. I allowed myself 2 weeks to adjust to not having the wine “treat” at the end of the day & that 2 weeks is up.

 

[alligatorob]

I allowed myself 2 weeks to adjust to not having the wine “treat” at the end of the day & that 2 weeks is up.

So will you start having your wine treat? Calorie counting and keeping strict limits is one of the things that has kept me from drinking much. I'd rather have calories I can chew.

 

[Cate]

No, Rob. No wine for at least another 2 weeks.

 

[liza]

As of today I’m back to eating normally & really limiting any sweetened stuff. I allowed myself 2 weeks to adjust to not having the wine “treat” at the end of the day & that 2 weeks is up.

I find that a really good way to break habits. When i struggled with quitting smoking I would allow myself every other luxury as long as I didn't smoke.

As of today I’m back to eating normally & really limiting any sweetened stuff.

Good to hear--you seem to eat really well most of the time just naturally.

 

[Llama]

I had one scoop of chocolate icecream yesterday. It was lovely but definitely enough. It's funny how for I like a little bit of icecream or a crap ton but not a "normal" amount.

 

[Petal001]

Cate that is exactly how I feel after sweet stuff . I really feel like crap . And it’s because I eat crap . Let’s focus on that thought for a while and see if it helps us stop

 

[Sunflower_]

Send me your wine willpower, Cate! I polished off nearly a whole bottle of red last night and had an awful headache this morning. First time in a while I've done that, but still..not good! Glad you had fun with the little ones xo

 

[Cate]

Liza- I think it did really help to break the daily habit. If I felt like a couple of squares of chocolate I had them. Now I don’t want them either. Healthy, clean eating suits me best.
LaMaria- 1 scoop of good ice cream occasionally is the way I am going to go.
Han- It has taken me a long time to really break the wine habit. I have leaned on it too much with the stress of the last few months & was drinking more than usual. It doesn’t help at all. I couldn’t find the motivation to just cut down but one day just decided I needed a circuit breaker. I have 2 weeks to work out what my new plan will involve, especially around alcohol.

We took the kids home yesterday & used the opportunity to take Arch for a big walk around the beach. I took him for another walk in the afternoon. I think he is really happy with his new life.
Our neighbours rode their bikes on their big cleared paddock & it was only barely audible. From now on I’ll message him when we’ll be away for a couple of hours or more on non school days.

 

[Llama]

We took the kids home yesterday & used the opportunity to take Arch for a big walk around the beach. I took him for another walk in the afternoon. I think he is really happy with his new life.

I'm sure he is; that sounds lovely.

 

[Petal001]

Happy days Cate